The vast majority of bio-waste (garden and food waste), which could be a valuable feedstock for the bio-based industries and biomanufacturing is currently unused, representing a missed opportunity. Valorising bio-waste can alleviate Europe’s food waste challenge and stimulate sustainable growth. This is particularly relevant as the EU prioritises strategic autonomy, competitiveness, circularity and the green transition.

The Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC), Europe’s leading industry association putting circularity, innovation and sustainability at the heart of the European bioeconomy, has teamed up with Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) to produce a second edition of our report identifying the untapped potential to valorise bio-waste in Europe. “Bio-waste generation in the EU: Current capture levels and future potential” has been published today on the BIC website. Since the first edition four years ago which showed a capture rate of 16% of the theoretical potential, the current figure shows improvement of less than 10%.

The report, which includes country factsheets, provides examples of how the bio-based industries contribute to tackling this waste challenge, as well as citing best practices in waste management at municipal level.

“The bio-based sector is already valorising bio-waste in smart and efficient processes. A number of BIC’s members are companies that use innovative methods to convert bio-waste into high-value bio-based products,,” says BIC Executive Director Dirk Carrez. “More efficiently capturing bio-waste, will allow more of it to be valorised in the bio-based industries and especially for biomanufacturing,” he added.

“We know that bio-waste remains deprioritised across much of the EU, even despite the new requirement for separate collection. Given the fact that only 26% of food waste is captured across the EU, it's clear much stronger action is needed. There is widespread recognition now of the best practices to collect and treat bio-waste. What is evident is the need for revised EU legislation that sets legally binding targets for the quality of bio-waste captured, and a cap on residual waste generation per capita, which would incentivise better bio-waste collection and treatment across the EU-27," summarises Jack McQuibban, ZWE’s Head of Local Implementation.